Torque transmission



March 16, 1954 A. DE MARCH! TORQUE TRANSMISSION 4-Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 10, 1952 March 16, 1954 A. DE MARCH! 2,672,062

TORQUE TRANSMISSION Filed 001:. 10, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 16, 1954 A. DE MARCH! 2,672,062

TORQUE TRANSMISSION Filed Oct. 10. 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 March 16, 1954 A. DE MARCH! TORQUE TRANSMISSION 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 10, 1952 Patented Mar. 16, 1954 UN lTED ,STATES PATENT 0 FF I CE.

TORQUE" TRANSMISSION Alessandro De Marchi; Biella, ,Italy Application October "'10, 1952; Serial *No. 3-14;135

3 Claims.

' This invention relates to a torque transmission, more particularly suitable for =machine tools, textile machines and motor vehicles.

My improved "transmission comprises a rotary input shaft, oscillatory :means actuated by said shaft, an output shaft, and one-way clutching means actuated by said oscillatory means and transmitting the movement to saidoutput shaft.

- Inoperation, rotation of the input shaft oscillates said oscillatory-means. Inthis case; the oneway clutching means acts simply like an electric rectifierrectifying all-homonymous half waves of the oscillatory movement of said oscillatory means and transmitting the resulting unidirectional impulses to the output shaft.

In'anembodiment my improved transmission comprises a rotary input shaft, an eccentric member positioned on-"said shaft, oscillatory means actuated by said eccentric member, an output shaft, a 'WhCGI OIl saidshaft, andcne-way clutching 'means actuated by said oscillatory means and transmitting movement to said wheel.

By varying the eccentricity of said eccentric member, the width 'ofosc'illation of said oscillatory'means' is varied, the frequence (which de pends upon the rotational speed "of? the input shaft) being'equal ornot, this resulting in variation of-the characteristics of the movement transmitted to the output shaft 'by-saidone-way clutching means. The corresponding embodiment therefore comprises arotary inputshaft, an eccentric member positioned on said shaft, means for varying: the eccentricity of saidmember, a series, concentric with said shaft-"ofoscillatory means actuated in turn by said eccentric member, an output shaft, awheel on said shaft,

andone-way clutching-means acting between said oscillatory meansand said wheel.

'The movement oi-the output shaft. becomes smoother and more uniform when said oscillatory means consists of a series, concentric Withthe input or output shaft, of equal oscillatory -means -"actuated in turn; one after another; by the eccentric member of the input-shaft.

'i heos'cillatorymeans and theone-way clutching means-can be supported bythe fixed housing of the transmissiombut, according to a feature of this invention, theymaybesupported by a rotatable supportof which the rotation is-adclecl, under given conditions, to -the movement transmitted "input-shaft l I The:invention 'shall-abe-better understood from the accompanying :drawings which IShOW byway of example a. preferred embodiment connection'withan automatic 5change speed gear for motor vehicles,:machine tools and'tother'purposes. On'rthe drawing:

Figure 1. is an-waxial section of the change speed gear;

. FiguresZ, 3, i-iand 5 are cross-sections :on'lines II-II, o: III-J11, IV-HIV. and 'V- V,- respectively, of Figure .1;

Figure .6 is assectionarviewzof a one-way clutch on :line of .Figure 1.

' .On' the'draiwingfil il den'otes a fixed housing for theztransmission. Apflywheel 112 is keyed to an :inputishaft 2| irwhi'ch is connected, in a manner not shown, with azprimexmover, such as, for in-- zstanc-esan electric motor, an internal combustion engine :orihe like. Thesense:of-rotation of the shaft H: and."'fiywheel2 Ei2r'is indicated in the figures'bythe arrowF. rThesha-it i'l reaches within-thehousingclrfl by a portion H" and ends a splinedrend H-:for"th"e:purpose that shall beaexplained hereafter.

il-fherflywheel"12:.carriestwo axial diamet ically :opposed-#pivots i3; abont which oscillate two centrifugal masses 214,14 connected together by means of two :linksii 5 for maintaining symmetry o'fi displacements. '.A cir cular seat leis fixedly 'connected'with the:;mass i4 and is formed with 'acentralrboreiHthroughwhich the shaft I 2 extends. In the embodiment shown, the shaft H is cut away "at the there It! :merely for constructicnal 'andinotior. essential-reasons, in order to aifcrd wideroscillations ofthemasses it, it.

Y A .rotatabletsupport :consisting of two axially spaced discs l3, I8 fixedly connected together .by me'ansiof'bolts |9,"is"suppcrted=at one end by a ball bearmg'rztrarranged on the shaft 11,. and "at its othertendfby afball bearing "21 arranged icnth'e housing H3, thetiiisc i ilnbeing formed with a portion 118" inlzthefform m"- a sleeve coaxial With the shaft II. The sleeve .ifiWi'has l-keyed thereto the'inner-membertzza of a free wheeling detentygenericallydenoted 1337 22, and a toothed wheel 23." Ehe outer'member 1222; of the detent iris-secured. to: the housing H1. 'andthe arrangement or the-lock members 22c and 2211* is such :that therotatable support ls, it isikept against "rotation in a -direction against thetrotati'on' of the The"-rotatab1esupport-:18, i t supports a. circu- -lar'row; concentric withsxthe shaft 1 i, of operativesets -MA and- ZGBIFigure 3,: each comprising oscillatoryimeansxand one-way ciutchingmeans.

The oscillatory means of each set consists of a shaft (Figure 1) having a crank pin 26 projecting from a disc 25a fixedly connected with the shaft 25. The one-way clutching means, generically denoted by 21, each comprise an outer element 21b, intermediate lock members 210 and 21d, and an inner member consisting of the crankshaft 25. The outer member 21b, of sleeve shape, is supported within the discs l8, I8 by means of ball bearing 28.

One of the crank pins 26, such as the crank pin 26 (Figure 3) has articulated thereto the master connecting rod 29 of a system of connecting rods 29' connecting all the pins 26 to a collar fast with the master connecting rod 29, said collar 30 being rotatable within the circular seat It, for instance through the interposition of a needle bearing 3!. It will be obvious that an outward expansion of the centrifugal masses l4, l4 increases the eccentricity of the collar 3|] and, assuming the seat 16 rotates in the direction F about the geometrical axis of the shaft ll (Figure 3), this variation in eccentricity results in an increase in the width of oscillation of each crankshaft 25 within the one-way clutching means 21 under the thrust of its associated connecting rod 29, 29' on the crank pin 26, 26' respectively.

The outer members 27b of each one-way clutch 21 are coupled with each other by means of coplanar toothed wheel 3 I, each wheel being fixedly connected to its sleeve 21?) (Figures 1 and 4) In the embodiment shown, the operative numbers are six in number (even number), so that in motion each wheel 3| rotates in a direction opposite to the other two wheels 3! meshing therewith. In accordance with the rule of the directions of rotation, the operating sets may be subdivided into two classes: forward speed groups 24A rotating in one direction and reverse speed groups 24B rotating in an opposite direction. The individual one-way clutches 27 are arranged to positively produce this distribution of the directions of rotation, shown by arrows in Figure 4. In other words, in order to cause in Figure 4 the wheel 3! placed higher to rotate in the direction of the arrow, it is necessary for its one-way clutch to exert a positive action in the direction of the arrow A (Figure 3) and slip when its crankshaft 25 is oscillated in an opposite direction. This principle applies to each group 24A and is reversed for the groups 24B.

A forward-speed toothed wheel 32 is fast with the wheel 3! of each group 24A and is greater in pitch diameter than the wheel 3|, all the wheels 32 being co-planar to one another and equal in pitch diameter.

Similarly, a reverse-speed toothed wheel 33 is fast with the wheel 3! of each group 24B and is identical with the wheel 32 of th group 24A, the planes of the wheels 32 and 33 being, however, situated on opposite sides with respect to the plane of the wheels 3|.

An axially slidable hollow shaft 34 is arranged coaxial with the shaft l i within the sleeve l8". The shaft 34 reaches by one of its ends into the hollow between the discs i8 and I8 and carries a toothed wheel 35 adapted to mesh with the wheels 32 or 33 or with one of them, according to the axial position of the shaft 34. In the position shown in Figure 1, the wheel 35 is situated in the plane of the wheels 3| without being engaged either by the wheels 32 or by the wheels 33. On displacing the shaft 34 to the right, the wheel 35 meshes with the forward-speed toothed Wheels 32 which rotate the wheel 35 in the direction of the input shaft H (see Figure l). The rotational speed of the wheel 35 thus depends directly upon the widths of oscillation of the osliclatory means 25, 26, that is, upon the eccentricity of the collar 30 which is responsive to the centrifugal masses M, M.

Similarly, by displacing the shaft 35 to the left (Fig. 1) the wheel 35 meshes with the reversespeed toothed wheels 33 and the shaft 3 3 is rotated at variable speed in a direction opposite to the input shaft l I.

It should be pointed out that the wheels 3i on the sleeves 21b are not essential for the operation of the transmission. In fact, in the example described all the one-way clutches 27 constantly operate, whether the wheel 35 is in its forward speed or reverse speed position, respectively, thereby increasing the transmissible power and smoothness of movement at the output of the transmission. It will be obvious that this construction requires an even number of oscillatory means 25, 26, otherwise a distribution of rotations as shown in Figure 4 would not be possible. By eliminating the wheels 3|, each operative group would operate independently or" the others, more particularly, the groups 24A would operate for forward speed only, and the groups 243 for reverse speed only. It will be obvious that the wheel 35, instead of receiving six impulses, as in th example shown, on one turn of the shaft i i, only receives three. In the latter case, however, the number of the operating sets may be even an odd number.

The hollow shaft 34 is practically a part of the output shaft 36 with which it is connected in rotation by means of a splined coupling 3'l which permits axial displacement of the shaft 33 with respect to the shaft 33.

On considering Figure 4, it will be seen that, when the wheel 35 meshes with the forwardspeed toothed wheels 32, the rotatable support i3, i8 is subjected to a reaction force which tends to rotate it about the shaft H in the direction F. Simple notions of mechanics, available to any expert of the branch, makes it understood that this reaction force is variable, more particularly, it sinks on increase of the eccentricity of the collar 30, goes over the zero value and starts increasing in a negative sense, that is, the rotatable support I8, [3 tends to rotate concurrently with the engine shaft.

The positive reaction is absorbed by the freewheel detent 22' which prevents rotation of the support I8, 18' in a direction opposite to the shaft H. As the speed of the shaft ii rises, the eccentricity of the collar 32 increases and the wheel 35 is operated at an increasing speed, first by the operative sets 24A and 2413 only, thereupon also by the rotatable support i8, !8' which starts rotating in the direction of the shaft II.

This sequence of operation is annulled when the wheel 35 is coupled with the reverse-speed toothed wheels 33, because in this case the rotatable support l8, [8' starts rotating at once with the shaft H annulling the reverse action of the wheels 33. In order to avoid this drawback, the bolt 30 producing axial displacements of the shaft 34 by means of a fork 4| (Figures 1 and 5) has fixed thereto a toothed segment 42. When the shaft 34 is axiall displaced to bring the wheel 35 into mesh with the reverse-speed wheels 33, the toothed segment 42 meshes with the wheel .23. Since the segment 42 is kept against rotation this object in view, the shaft 34 carries at the splined end l l of the shaft I l a one-way clutch 45, of which the inner member $50, is provided with splines 46 engaging the splined end II for forward speed only. The one-way clutch therefore permits of the hollow shaft 34 rotating more slowly than the input shaft, but fixedly connects the input shaft with the output shaft 36 when the latter tends to exceed the former in speed.

The construction described employs one-way clutches and free-wheeling devices of the type described and shown in my Italian patentapplication filed May 2, 1952. A device of this kind is characterized by the fact that it comprises instantaneously responding intermediate members which control the action of intermediate power members. Referring to Figures 1 and 6, a spring 210 is Wound about the inner member of a oneway clutch 2'1 and is anchored at one end 210 to the inner member and at its other end 21! to a disc 212, of which the rotation with respect to the inner member in a given direction causes the spring 210 to diametrally expand, the spring then engaging from the inside the outer sleev 21b carrying the latter along a rotation. The power transmissible through this type of coupling is relatively great. The disc 212 is a part of the instantaneously responding intermediate members which had been denoted above by 2141 or 22d, respectively, in the case of the detent 22. The intermediate members comprise rollers 213 slidable on inclined cam surfaces 214 of the disc 21! and urged by springs 215 by Wedging between said cam surfaces 214 and the sleeve 211), as in known types of free wheels. In operation the rollers 213 come into action first, so that the disc 212 is caused to rotate through a certain angle with respect to the inner member of the one-way clutch, causing the spring 210 to expand, said spring engaging in turn the outer member 21b, which is thereby fixedly connected in rotation with the inner member.

Unlocking of the rollers 213 instantaneously releases the spring 210 which collapses and releases the outer member 211).

It will be obvious that a one-way clutch mechanism of any known type, other than described, may be employed within the scope of this invention.

According to requirements the transmission may comprise one operative set only, for instance 24A, where reversal of speed is not needed, or at least two operating groups, namely a forward speed group 24A and a reverse-speed group 243, when forward and reverse drive, both at variable speed, are desired. The free-wheel detent 22 is not essential and may be eliminated in similar constructions; in this case, the support l8, l8 could be fast with the housing H] for the transmission.

The variation in eccentricity of the collar 39, which is obtained here through the action of the centrifugal masses i4, I 4', can be produced by any other suitable mechanisms of a mechanical, hydraulic, electromagnetic or other type.

What 1 claim is:

1. In a torque transmission comprising a rotary input shaft, an eccentric member positioned on said shaft, means for varying the eccentricity of said member, a number of cranked shafts arranged around said input shaft and having the cranks oscillated in turn by said eccentric member, forward-speed toothed wheels and forwardspeed one-way clutch means connecting said wheels with some of said crankshafts, reversespeed toothed wheels and reverse-speed one-way clutch means connecting said last named wheels with the remaining crankshafts, an outputshaft, and a toothed wheel onsaid ouput shaft selectively meshing with said forwardand reversespeed toothed wheels, respectively, a fixed casing, a rotatable support supporting said crankshafts, said toothed wheels and said one-way clutch means, a free-wheeling detent between said rotatable support and the casing keeping said support against reverse rotation, means for selectively coupling the output shaft with the forwardand reverse-speed toothed wheels, respectively, and means associated with said last named means for locking the rotatable support as the transmission is in a reverse speed condition.

2. Torque transmission as claimed in claim 1, wherein a one-way clutch is provided, directly connecting the output shaft with the input shaft when the drive is transmitted from the former to the latter, and a coupling means selectively connecting and disconnecting said one-way clutch with the input shaft for a forward and reverse speed operation.

3. Torque transmission as claimed in claim 1, comprising an even number of oscillatory means and wherein toothed wheels are provided, connecting for rotation each one-way clutch means with the two adjacent one-way clutch means.

ALESSANDRO DE MARCHI.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,256,903 Joyner et al Sept. 23, 1941 2,417,944 Osborne Mar. 25, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 990,178 France Sept. 18, 1951 

